Iran is preparing to send Russia Fath-360 short-range ballistic missile launchers, Reuters reported on May 9, citing Western security and regional officials familiar with the matter.
"Ukraine and all allies are ready for a complete unconditional ceasefire on land, in the air, and at sea for at least 30 days, starting as early as Monday," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote.
U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged in private that Russia is difficult to negotiate with because they "want the whole thing," referring to Ukraine, the WSJ reported, citing sources familiar with the comments.
A notice about the airspace closure was published on the U.S. Defense Department's NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) website on May 10, as cited by Ukrainian defense news outlet Militarnyi.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected the idea of a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, claiming in an interview with ABC News on May 10 that it would be "an advantage" for Ukraine.
"Our involvement in the war was justifiable, and this belongs to our sovereign rights," North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un said. "I regard this as part of the sacred mission we must execute for our brothers and comrades-in-arms."
"We have a plan B and a plan C. But our focus is plan A, the essence of which is to get everyone's support" for Ukraine's accession, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
"(T)he presence at the Victory Parade of a country that bombs cities, hospitals, and daycares, and which has caused the deaths and injuries of over a million people over three years, is a shame," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.
"According to the participants of the performances, their goal is to remind the civilized world of the barbaric actions of Moscow, which for many years and decades has systematically violated international law," a source in Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) told the Kyiv Independent.
"I have great hope that an agreement for a ceasefire in Ukraine will be reached this weekend," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on May 9, shortly before traveling to Kyiv alongside the leaders of France, Poland, and the U.K.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks ahead of the peace talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine at Dolmabahce Presidential Office in Istanbul, Turkey on March 29, 2022. (Arda Kucukkaya/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on March 16 spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump for the first time since his second term began in January, with the conversation covering key issues, including Russia's war against Ukraine.
During the conversation, Erdogan expressed support for President Trump's efforts to bring an end to the war. He emphasized that Turkey backs Trump’s initiatives aimed at resolving the war and voiced hope for a positive outcome under his leadership.
Turkey has positioned itself as a potential mediator in Russia's all-out war against Ukraine, now in its fourth year, by maintaining diplomatic and economic ties with both nations while supporting Ukraine's sovereignty.
Leveraging its strategic position and influence in the Black Sea region, Turkey has facilitated negotiations, grain exports, and expressed willingness to participate in ceasefire monitoring.
In late February, Turkey indicated its openness to deploying troops in Ukraine as part of a potential peacekeeping force. Sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that Erdogan raised the issue in separate meetings with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during visits to Ankara earlier that same month.
While Moscow has openly opposed the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine, Russia has yet to provide a clear response to Turkey's proposal.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Anatoliy Khomenko
